The warehouse squatted at the end of the lane, two streets from the auction house and a world away from it. Brick ran from the base to the height of a man. Timber was above it, and slate ran over the top. No windows sat below the roofline. The only glass sat in a narrow band up under the trusses for light, where nobody could reach it.
Nothing big enough for even a child to escape through.
Well, unless they were a shapeshifter.
Are there shapeshifters here? That’d be cool.
I think Druids could do it. Druids are cool.
Daniel walked the long wall before he went in, counting forty paces. Wagon doors were attached to iron rails near the end, wide enough for two carts abreast. A stone dock rose to bed height, and there were four guards at the doors, all humans. They held clubs.
“What’s the deal, Latto?”
Latto stepped out ahead of him with the clipboard. He didn’t raise his voice as one of the guards came forward with a frown.
“Lord Daniel has contracted Kessle House to fulfill a monumental task. He has taken tenancy of this building for thirty days for this job. The Countess has reassigned you to accomplish the task. Time is of the essence.”
He handed the head guard one of the pages he’d written on their journey. The man glanced up at Daniel once, the slaves and women behind him, and then at the paper.
Latto kept speaking.
“There are three other minor slave houses in the upper district holding operating slaves and free-bid slaves. We are to purchase all of them. The Countess has made it explicit. We are to barter hard and fast. The top ten staff who perform this task will receive a substantial bonus.”
Grins sparked to life in the men’s eyes as they looked at one another.
“I suppose the details will be given at the House Treasury?”
“That is correct. You are to take all staff. Lord Daniel has purchased every slave. This encompasses the House slaves, including me. My acquisition will be the final purchase when all paperwork is signed. This paper is the official cover letter. If you would, Slave Master?”
The man took the pen and signed it. Daniel did the same. Julia, Alys, and Latto did the same as witnesses. With that, the door was unlocked, and the slave master shouted the instructions inside. The three dozen guards inside exited. Confusion soon lifted with a prize in mind. The Countess certainly knew how to motivate her people.
The keys were handed to Daniel, and he noticed dozens more nervous bodies arriving behind them. Kessle House’s operating servants in their main building had been directed here.
I guess there’s a reason Esteroa is the biggest slaver in the city.
Daniel’s mouth tightened when the smell reached him with the door open.
Hopefully, when the Farmstead expands with the extra bodies, we’ll get a river and forest. It would help. And sanitation…
A small smile stretched his lips.
Maybe our little identity-erasing monsters can have a use after all. I wonder if they can drop anything when they absorb enough identity, like Carl does for his puppets?
He walked inside with Julia, Alys, and the three slaves. Daniel stopped just inside the entrance to survey the area. Fourteen pens ran the long axis in two rows with an aisle between them. Board partitions were at chest height, worn smooth along the top of all fourteen.
A brick trench for waste ran the length of the aisle under a grating, sloped toward the far wall. Above the pens, a goods loft sat on cast-iron posts. Empty, except for three coils of rope and a hoist frame bolted to the crossbeam.
It was twenty-two feet to the trusses and six thousand square feet of floor for 150 slaves.
He could see Alys and Julia’s creased noses.
They didn’t say anything, and didn’t have to.
Anillita looked nervous, and Nessa’s ears and tail were low.
They likely had bad memories of this warehouse.
Latto handed Daniel the keys and bowed his head.
“The paperwork is done. All current slaves under our House control are purchased. The remaining slaves will be escorted here within the next fifteen minutes. I estimate roughly 70 more tonight. The rest within our stock will be prepared for tomorrow’s shipment. What would you have me do, Lord Daniel?”
Daniel watched the elves and beastfolk line up. His mouth became a line.
“The gender ratio is mostly women. Is that common?”
Latto followed his gaze, not a hint of hesitation in his calculating red eyes.
“If I were to make a guess, I would say the ratio is 40/60 male to female within the city. Females catch a higher price. Males tend to be more rebellious and harder to tame.”
I suppose the ratio is reversed in the elven kingdom.
He rubbed his chin in the ensuing silence.
“I will have three human women under my care supervising beastfolk guards outside for security. Let it be known. The interior is off-limits to all but the entering slaves.”
“Noted. Since I am not a part of the slave group, I shall take my leave. My Lord,” he bowed. “I shall return tomorrow for the next set of paperwork. It would be best if the witness signatures remained the same.”
He turned on his heel and left.
The lights around the warehouse were oil, the fires burning low.
Daniel gave Nessa the key, her tail wagging as she jogged over to start releasing the slaves. The teen directed them to the middle; Anillita did the same, if less enthusiastically, with those outside.
It took twenty minutes before every slave was standing shoulder to shoulder. Some looked resistant. Many of them were grouped amongst themselves. There was a clear divide in gender and race in how they congregated.
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Nessa jogged out of the group, practically bouncing.
“I count 227 total, Master! What next?”
Daniel patted the girl on the head, making her tail wag faster.
“Close the doors and lock them.”
Julia scooted closer.
“I heard from the other slaves you had a place they could go. But how will you get them there from a locked door? Is this a deal with— What was his name? Carl? The Dungeon Core?”
Alys fidgeted with the front of her dress.
“And we still need to rescue the High Cleric, Daniel.”
“I haven’t forgotten. Everything will be alright… Just watch.”
Tensions rose amongst the two hundred slaves; their voices hushed as Nessa closed the door. He could see some of the male beastfolk and elves whispering to one another. Daniel’s heart ached when he heard the babies crying.
He noticed a few children who must have been half-breeds. Honestly, he was shocked there wasn’t more than a handful. Then again, the racism ran deep in this world. Even using a slave for that purpose was probably seen with disgust.
He climbed up to the second level and raised his voice as the lock clicked.
“You all know that you don’t stand a chance if you run…”
Most of their noses twisted, eyes downcast, tails and ears low.
His voice softened in the silence.
“I cannot promise you the path ahead is easy. I hear your whispers. Yes, I am buying every slave in the city. As many as I can.”
He glanced at Julia, Alys, and Anillita, then held up his hand.
[⟡ Ground #1: Farmstead &&] Activated.
Daniel threw it to the wall to the left of the entrance. It attached, and the wall rippled like water, revealing the gateway that sent a gasp through the crowd.
“This is a gateway to my realm. Once inside, I will explain everything… But go with this knowledge. You are free. You may think of me as you will, but I do not see you as my slaves. I offer you options. One is to build up this Farmstead. Please, save your questions until inside.”
As he expected, it took some more convincing. Well, that was true for everyone but the little rat teen, who scampered through with a cry for adventure. Julia and Alys piped up with a lot of questions. Anillita posed the last question from the slaves, the elf standing beside the gate.
“And if we choose to return to elven land, would you make the journey the moment you finish purchasing all the slaves? Would you go to the elven keep of Esalarica?”
Daniel didn’t hesitate.
“I cannot promise a time scale when I’m constrained by the Department of Shadows and the government… But maybe this will help you understand.”
Turning his back to the nervous slaves, a quiet pressed in on him as he slowly removed his coat, jacket, and dress shirt. Even the children stopped crying as his scarred back was revealed.
“If you are to trust me, I must trust you. I am no human, and that gateway is not linked to this world and its laws… It is the foothills of the Silver City of Tarnish.”
When he faced them, he saw tears falling from their eyes.
“So, will you trust me?”
Anillita was the first to step into the gate. More followed, groups holding hands as they stepped into the portal. Julia and Alys did the same with wonder.
He didn’t enter until the last soul was through. Butler was there, and a few elves and beastfolk were reuniting with the first slaves he’d saved. One was already ordering them to a river at the edge of the field; that hadn’t been there before.
“It looks like we are expanding, My King. What would you have me do?”
“Butler,” Daniel sighed, shaking his hand and flashing him a smile. “I sort of did something foolish again. Mind bailing me out? I’m going to dump a lot on you.”
“I live to serve. Give me the task. I shall see it through.”
Daniel explained his plan to the capable man. He’d sent a lot of available supplies earlier that day, but every day he’d be dropping off more as the elves and beastfolk purchased all the supplies to build their own homes, at least for those who would stay.
Thirty minutes went by like a flash as he was pulled left and right.
Hope was growing. It hadn’t settled in yet for them, and he could understand why.
But they were in Butler and One’s capable hands now. He left them the many bags of copper and silver to accomplish what they needed to throughout the month. Most importantly, at least temporarily, the elves and beastfolk were on board with supporting the Farmstead.
Alys and Julia left with him before the gate closed. He’d already confirmed it with Angel. So long as he didn’t enter or close it, the gate would remain open.
Daniel locked the empty warehouse, all the supplies inside having already been pulled through, and turned toward the Cleric and Ranger.
“I’d like you two to go home and get some sleep.”
Alys’s shoulders fell, looking off to the side.
“I hate feeling useless… I know you will be better alone. Well,” her smile lifted a little, even if melancholy, “with Clara. Adventurers are used to conserving supplies, utilizing weaker spells to save mana and resources in long dungeons. This is a gang.”
Julia crossed her arms and smiled.
“I trust you, Daniel. You are the king of a higher realm, after all. Doesn’t that make him kind of like your god or something, Alys?”
“Julia, I-I haven’t thought that far,” the Cleric mumbled, cheeks going slightly pink. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to think or do. I just need the High Cleric.”
Daniel put a hand on her shoulder, drawing her confused gaze.
“You’ll have him tomorrow morning… Go, get some rest. We have a lot to do.”
“…As you say, My King.”
“Not you, too,” Daniel laughed. “Julia, make sure she doesn’t sneak off.”
“On it, Boss!”
He watched them go with a sigh. When they went out of sight, he held up his hand, [⟡ Clara’s Heart] materializing from silver light.
“Darling… Where are you?”
“Here…”
“Clara?!”
His wife flashed into being in front of him to fall upon his shoulders. Wings falling limply at her sides, she groaned against his chest.
“Everything hurts… Do you know how cruel you are, my oblivious beloved!?” She drew back slightly to peck him on the lips and silence him with a sleepy glare. “There were so many times I wanted to fly in and wing-slap someone or tackle you with kisses! But I was disciplined. Praise me. Because I’ve managed something grand.”
Angel’s voice announced them.
[◈ Pet Upgraded to &&]
[One pet can now be summoned until long rest, My King. The useless bag of feathers has done something good for once instead of punching pillows. It can be rerolled twice in a day, even while the pet is summoned.]
“Oh, go choke on your wings!”
[I don’t breathe, so it’s not something I can do, My Queen. Even your insults fail, klutz.]
“I’m going to tie your wings into a knot!”
Angel ignored her, further infuriating his tired wife.
[⟡ Server Upgraded to &&]
[One servant can now be summoned until long rest. Two rerolls are available, as well.]
That’s good. I can start getting to know the other…
Angel wasn’t done, and Clara’s smile sharpened with the deep-throated Crier’s voice.
[⟡ Link Summon Card Unlocked &]
“I see you used those cores we had stockpiled after we capped. Link Summon?”
[Now this is a real upgrade, My Queen… You may link citizens of the Silver City to anchor a stronger card you have yet to unlock. The combination matters. It can fail if the Links or locked Card refuses.]
Clara’s eyes blanked, then narrowed.
“You make it sound useless, you fried-voiced bird!”
Daniel just kissed her, brushing back her wild silver hair to stare into her eyes.
“I love it… Thank you. But I can’t help but notice someone’s showing a lot of thigh.”
His wife’s face and feathers turned pink as she followed his gaze.
“Yes, well… Many husbands would enjoy seeing such a sight from their wife.”
Daniel placed his forehead against hers.
“Can’t it be a mixed bag? I’m going to have to punish you later…”
He leaned in slowly to rub noses, making her quiver.
“But that’s for later. I’m going to go rescue a High Cleric. I will carry you.”
Clara’s feathers ruffled as he turned and offered her his back.
“Get on, My Queen. We can’t have you stressing those beautiful wings.”
“…As you command, My King.”